-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The historic measure to regulate and tax marijuana in Washington State deserves to be looked at closely as a model of how legalization ought to be designed and implemented elsewhere in America .

We 've turned a significant corner with the approval of Initiative 502 , which purposefully offers a true public health alternative to the criminal prohibition of pot .

For the first time in a very long time , the well-intended but failed criminal penalties to protect public health and safety will be set aside . Adults who choose to use marijuana and obtain it through legal outlets will no longer be faced with the threat of criminal sanctions . People of color will no longer face the egregious inequities in how marijuana criminal penalties are imposed . Parents , as they help prepare their children for the choices they face concerning marijuana , will no longer be hobbled by misinformation about the drug and the absence of effective supports to encourage abstinence .

`` The great experiment '' of alcohol prohibition became the national law in 1920 . Its intentions were good , but it failed in a number of vitally important ways . In 1923 , the state of New York repealed its alcohol prohibition law . Ten other states soon followed , and in 1933 national Prohibition ended .

I believe Washington state has just played that pivotal role with regard to marijuana . Moreover , by borrowing from public health model principles known to be effective , the state has offered the most compelling replacement to prohibition considered to date .

What is a public health model ? In brief , it 's an approach that acknowledges use of marijuana can present harms to the user and to public safety , and includes provisions to prevent or ameliorate those harms .

A public health model includes six key elements . Washington state 's new law incorporates each of them .

The first is accountable oversight by an agency of government . The Washington state legalization model assigns responsibility to a state agency for writing regulations concerning how the growing , producing and selling of marijuana will occur . Among those regulations are tight limitations on advertising and the prevention of access to marijuana by minors . Then , that agency will have the authority to issue licenses to growers , producers and sellers and to enforce adherence to the rules .

The second element is a well-funded multifaceted marijuana education program that is based on science rather than ideology . Far too few Americans are sufficiently informed about marijuana 's effects on health and behavior , both the positive and the negative . A key to good decision-making is possessing accurate information .

The third element is well-funded prevention programs widely available to all the state 's geographical and demographic communities . We 've learned a great deal about what knowledge , skills and community supports actually work in helping young people navigate a world in which drugs such as marijuana are readily available . Sadly , far too little funding has been devoted to putting such programs to work in our communities .

A fourth element is making treatment of marijuana dependence readily available . The new law dedicates funding to establish a statewide Marijuana Help Line . It also earmarks funding to state , county and local governments for the provision of services for those in need of help .

Evaluation of the new law 's impact is the fifth element . An independent state agency will receive funding to conduct periodic assessments of how the new system affects behaviors , attitudes and knowledge . Using the findings of these evaluative studies , the state agency overseeing the pricing and taxing of marijuana can adjust those costs to maximize undercutting of the black market and deterrence of youth access to marijuana .

The sixth element is research . The new law earmarks funding to the state 's two major research universities for the purpose of conducting marijuana-focused studies . As we gradually learn how to live more healthfully and safely with marijuana , the knowledge derived from those studies will inform education , prevention , treatment and refinements in the law .

In more than 40 years of research -- primarily marijuana dependence counseling interventions for adults and adolescents -- it has seemed to me that prohibition has hindered more than it has helped good decision-making . Far too many teens think smoking pot is `` no big deal , '' greatly underestimating the risk of being derailed from social , psychological and educational attainment . Far too many adults do n't take seriously enough the risk of marijuana dependence that accompanies very frequent use .

We can do better . By regulating and taxing marijuana based on a set of strong public health principles , I believe our cultural norms concerning marijuana will shift and the harms we 've witnessed will greatly reduce .

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roger A. Roffman .

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On Tuesday , voters in Washington state and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana

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Roger Roffman : Washington state 's historical measure deserve close attention

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He says the state has offered the most compelling replacement to prohibition to date

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Roffman : Prohibition has hindered more than it has helped good decision-making